Thread: Noob question about barber hones

One thing has not been mentioned so far. The principal purpose of a barber hone is to "refresh" an edge that has begun to pull a bit.
They are not intended for restoring a antique store/ebay vintage razor.

There are exceptions to this. The "Little Devil" hone has a coarser grit that can take on more preliminary razor work. There are also some others whose name escapes me just now.


Just my $.02,

Originally Posted by randydance062449

One thing has not been mentioned so far. The principal purpose of a barber hone is to "refresh" an edge that has begun to pull a bit.
They are not intended for restoring a antique store/ebay vintage razor.

There are exceptions to this. The "Little Devil" hone has a coarser grit that can take on more preliminary razor work. There are also some others whose name escapes me just now.


Just my $.02,

Thanks. At the moment I might just want to do a very light touch up on my razor which is pretty close to being good to shave. I just feel the edge may have dulled a little from sitting unused for a couple of years since it was honed (By someone more knowledgeable than me)

I do think I want to have a go at restoring a razor or two in the future. I was thinking of getting a Norton 4K/8K for that. Do you think that would be the best choice to start with?

The Norton 4k/8k can be used for everything, but you may find yourself wanting a 1k before long. The Norton starter kit on Amazon is a great choice.

I used a swaty about a year ago to hone my grandfathers razor, it took me most of the night but in the morning I got a fair shave. He had been dead since '65. So what randydance says is true, its just for refreshing the edge unless you have nothing to do for days on end,

The Norton 4/8 has been my go to hone for a long time. Although I do have the Norton 1K it is no longer used. I use 1000 grit wet/dry sandpaper. Much faster cutting and easier on the edge than a DMT.....IMHO.

But... sandpaper is a bit of a PITA.

I have often thought that my 3 Line Swaty would be more effective if I would lap the bottom side of the hone to give it more honing surface. This thread is prompting me to think more seriously about it.

This particular hone is obviously the same on both sides so I will lap it with either a DMT 325 or a Carborundum 118S.

Originally Posted by mrsell63

I have often thought that my 3 Line Swaty would be more effective if I would lap the bottom side of the hone to give it more honing surface. This thread is prompting me to think more seriously about it.

This particular hone is obviously the same on both sides so I will lap it with either a DMT 325 or a Carborundum 118S.

Unless it has significant chipping, try just using it first. If it's loaded with gunk, clean it with oven cleaner first. I say this because it's always best to first try the original surface of the hone before irrevocably altering it by lapping.

I agree with all above. The Velvet is one of the really good barber hones, whose purpose is keeping, not getting, a razor sharp with minimal effort. If you want to sharpen razors, then you need alternatives and Nortons are excellent for that.

Originally Posted by Utopian

Unless it has significant chipping, try just using it first. If it's loaded with gunk, clean it with oven cleaner first. I say this because it's always best to first try the original surface of the hone before irrevocably altering it by lapping.

I agree, first.....clean it and try it. Lapping a Swaty is a real bear to accomplish and not much, if anything, is gained.